This is one of the most magical and atmospheric novels I have had the pleasure of reading in some time. I did question halfway into the book about a certain person, so it didn’t come as no surprise when I was proved right, however……why. That was my eagerness to find out. Egyszerre elkápráztató és sötét, ugyanolyan gyönyörű, mint amennyire felkavaró. Magával ragadó, érzékeny regény.” – Inga Vesper, a The Long, Long Afternoon szerzője The scene then shifts to another assignment, with Ruby moving to rural Yorkshire to nurse the four children of the eponymous Mrs England. She appears as a weak and withdrawn lady, having delegated decisions about family life to her husband, the manager of a cotton mill. As Autumn progresses and days grow shorter and colder, the unsettling family atmosphere darkens, with strange events taking place in the woods and villages that neighbour the England family residence.

Mrs England - Stacey Halls

My main criticism was that after all that build, I was let down by the ending. Suddenly everything happened all too fast and it was all over, and I was left feeling somewhat dissatisfied, and with the feeling that the main plot had all been rather too predictable. Welcome to my stop on the #HTPBooks Harlequin Trade Press Publishing’s 2022 Blog Tour for historical fiction. Thanks #HTPBooks #Netgalley for a complimentary eARC of #MrsEngland upon my request. All opinions are my own. Like her previous novels, you can tell an immense amount of research has gone into this story. I loved the slow-building feeling of menace in the story, it’s so atmospheric and there were some moments that definitely gave me a feeling of dread. One of the most compelling things for me was the complex characters – so many of them are way more than they seem on the surface. Mr and Mrs England were brilliant characters and Halls has a brilliant way of making you question who they truly are. Ruby is a really interesting protagonist and I loved learning about her family and her past alongside her time with the Englands. Pian piano, giorno dopo giorno, Ruby si ambienta, scoprendo piccoli dettagli e interrogandosi sul non detto che riesce a percepire, anche attraverso incontri casuali e sprazzi di conversazione. The authors writing is fantastic, very cleverly written. However they just delved too deep into the unimportant ‘fillers’ of the book and didn’t spend enough time talking about any of the interesting moments throughout.

Hasonló könyvek címkék alapján

Halls is very good at drawing characters, with Ruby aware of herself and others around her, although first impressions are sometimes misguided. Mrs England’s birth family are named Greatrex and are all unappealing, and rather homogenous. Perhaps this is an intentional contrast with an otherwise diverse cast, each of whom play an individual role in an intriguing book. Egyszerűen lenyűgöző. Vészjósló, csodálatosan megírt és kitűnő, hátborzongató Edward-kori történet.” – Daily Mail A regény a 19-20. század fordulóján, a vidéki Anglia szövettermő gyárvidékére visz bennünket, de az ottani textilgyári munkások élete helyett, a polgári gazdag családok, önmagába zárt rendszerébe nyerhetünk bepillantást, a szolgálólét peremén álló May Dadus szemszögéből. Az új szolgálati helyen, Yorkshire-ben Ruby May, egy négygyermekes, jómódú családnál kap nevelőnői állást, és a kezdeti elfogódást csupán a cselédség barátságtalan hozzáállása árnyékolja be. Idővel azonban, ahogy a borítón az indák közül előbukkan a ház, lassan lemálik az illúzió, a fess és okos Mr. England gyönyörű családjáról, és a valóság talán nagyon más, mint amit Ruby May a tökéletes és precíz nevelőnő annak lát.

Summer books: Bernardine Evaristo, Hilary Mantel, Richard Summer books: Bernardine Evaristo, Hilary Mantel, Richard

Lélegzetelállítóan briliáns. Pompásan megírt, hihetetlenül hangulatos, a feszültségfokozás magasiskolája. Daphne Du Maurier és Henry James finoman függőséget okozó szerelemgyermeke.” – Liz Hyder ritmul. Faptul că nu am nimic de comentat aici și că nu am simțit când am ajuns la ultima pagină spune suficient. I've read both of Stacey Hall's previous novels: The Familiars and The Foundling, so knew I would enjoy this one, and I did. Still though, of the three, The Familiars is my favorite. It's the elements of witchcraft in The Familiars, that and the atmospheric setting, that make it so. Do you think Stacey Halls went far enough in making Mrs England look insane? Or in making Mr England a villain? Intimacies by Katie Kitamura (to be published in the UK in July) is beautifully written, deep and soulful, and imbued with a calm, wise energy. You can read it as a psychological thriller or a philosophical meditation but for me, primarily, it is the quest of a woman, a stranger in a strange city, as she comes to The Hague to escape New York, and struggles with power, inequality, justice, memory and love – or the absence of it. In the quietest way, it is a deeply transformative story.

Említett könyvek

I feel like there were two people within me who read this book: one who is only a reader, and one who is also a writer; and they had different thoughts about this book. My first book from Stacey Halls, I did overall enjoy this Edwardian era mystery, which had a strong sense of the gothic about it. Indeed, I think the sense of atmosphere and foreboding that Halls managed to capture was the book's greatest strength, as almost as soon as Ruby arrives at Hardcastle House there is that feeling of something being not quite right beneath the surface, which only builds as the novel continues. An eerie, dangerous landscape, a wealthy family, a children’s nurse, a controlling husband, and characters with secrets greet us in this delicious, Gothic novel.